Am I as smart as my mailbox?

Am I as smart as my mailbox? Only time will tell. It just arrived today......a Salsbury Post-Mount Locking Roadside Mailbox with Front and Rear Access #4325......AND a matching #4315 10 lb. newspaper holder. HAH! I'll never be accused of not having MY priorities in order. No doors on the bathrooms yet....house entry is still a propped up board/plank.....no stove or icebox......but "neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night........" you know the rest. Gotta have Netflix and the newspaper. I'm a little worried about the "non-locking access panel", "rear locking door", "convenient outgoing mail tray", and the incoming mail compartment" and two keys. But I totally understand the "adjustable red flag".

So.....here's what's been happening lately.

The ceiling is finished. As I said before it was totally done, it is a genuine work of artistry and design. Not to mention, labor. I can't imagine doing such a thing for ANYONE.....regardless of the cost and commitment.....and I feel both honored and enriched to have such beauty for the life of the house. Thanks to Michael and Jason.

Closets are finished and will still be standing a hundred years from now. That may seem like a trivial operation to some people, but I'll bet that closet installations have tested many a happy American family. One needs to bare one's soul to one's closet engineers to have ample hanging space and room for shoes. And a terry cloth robe. And a reflective vest. And "did you notice how many GRAY tee shirts she had?"

Today was the day that Jason was going to put sealer on the floors. I spent parts of Saturday and Sunday shop-vacuuming, sweeping, scraping and wet-mopping the area.......with instructions to "work my way to the door, back out of the house, leave no footprints and head on outta there." I did as I was told, and if I hadn't been practicing yoga for a while, I wouldn't be around to tell the story. Kneeling, squatting and pushing a mop should not be attempted by the untrained worker. After the concrete floor was initially poured, a long time ago, I had visions of it being a cool, elegant, monochromatic slab of grey. In reality, the floor will probably be like most durable elements of life.......and even most durable people in life.......its complexion will be a reflection of a most interesting and varied character. And it will be "celebrated" (a favorite designer word) and cherished for what it has become and how it has gotten there.

I can't get over how much better it is looking and feeling on the outside of the house since Ken and "crew" did two days of work. The driveway gravel is no longer in a pile by the road.......the dirt leveling process really puts the house, the ramp and the storage container in a better perspective. He burned down the trash pile, trimmed trees, moved brush piles into the trash pile.......and will be on hand to help with some berms planned for that same area. We're planning to plant that space with Buffalo Grass in the Spring, but after getting some expert advice at Nixa Seed and Hardware, I got some rye grass seed to put down until then. And got a lesson on how to throw it. Right there in the store. I love that place. And the people in it.

Meanwhile, John R. has been doing some clearing on the river side of the house and has been making a more user-friendly path to get down to the river. "Stobs" may be a regional term for those deadly, cut-off parts of trees or seedlings that stick out of the ground, not high enough to notice, but high enough that you will surely trip on them, bust your shins and screech the worst words you know....and John R.'s specialty is stob-removal. And there are a lot of stobs on the hillside. He should be everyone's best friend for that public service.

Most of this work, lately, has been fueled with Squirt, goat cheese and cucumber sandwiches and homemade ham salad made with Jenise's one-of-a-kind-relish, deviled eggs and Ghiradeli's double fudge brownies. Not too bad for Webster County, huh. I've been having the time of my life.

Earlier in the month, Ann Brown invited theworkshop 308 to speak to the Southeast Rotary Club about the designing and building of the house......and invited me to come for lunch and listen to the presentation. Michael was at the house installing cedar.......one plank at a time......while Jason gave an outstanding account of the 8747 house....beginning with the day I walked into their place with my shoe box full of house ideas to the present stage of development.....and finished with an intriguing hint of a project-in-the-works planned for a more urban neighborhood in Springfield. His commentary was so descriptive, yet concise... and his pictures, as you have probably seen on the flickr part of the blog page, are just great. It was both conscience-raising and entertaining and I commend Ann for her vision and her taste in program selection and applaud the Rotary for the consistent good works that help make this a good place to live.

And, if that wasn't enough........a week-ago-Friday, Bob Weddle and Andy Wells brought some 5th year Architecture students from Drury University to talk to Michael and Jason about the house and to tour the project. I liked seeing and hearing their reactions to this undertaking. It was good.

Plenty of stuff left to do.....interior doors......the ramp......woodstove.....deck......cut the door in the storage container.......canopy for my parking place......Gabe's audio/visual/security system operation.......various small jobs both inside and out.....I'll try to keep you posted in a more timely manner.

Out of the gutter......into the closet.....and some real dirt.

Out of the gutter....into the closet....and some real dirt. In other words.......hacking away at the to do list.

Who knew I could get excited about gutters? Flat black, commercial-type......the perfect go-with, accessory for a black fox shipping container. Kind of an agri/industrial/Calvin Klein look.

And this, my friends, is how many great works have begun........drawings on a napkin......or, in this case, my friend Sally's plan for my closet on top of a styrofoam chimichanga-leftover carton.

.................with her structural engineer husband Tom to install the plan. This is a first class operation.

These ceilings are going to take your breath away. They have truly taken the whole look and feel of this space to a new and elegant level.......have brought warmth and color where it was needed........and, if it wasn't before, will certainly make this a one-of-a-kind dwelling.
And, yes........we're paying for dirt here. Never thought I'd see THAT day.

Loyd sharing dirt stories with Jason.
Ken......friend, landlord, retired teacher/librarian, potter, sculptor, banjo-player, bike-rider, runner, renovator and heavy-equipment operator returns with his crew to move the earth. Did I say clogger?



And wife Shirley......who brought her chair and book......and read nary a page.
You get a yard full of some smooth dirt and people just come out of the woodwork to sit around and admire it. Quite the support group, eh? Only George and the dogs are missing.
Jason......on the porch......contemplating four-part-harmony.

9:00 a.m......the buzzards were circling....the campfires were cold....

Oh..........if only this baby could talk.
You cannot buy those orange leaves at Hobby Lobby.
Today's view from the porch off my bedroom....nary a buzzard in sight.
.........and it sounds as good as it looks.
Black Fox (the paint color) Big Bertha.......the pride of Webster County.
Track for the sliding bathroom door.
This is where I will keep twist ties, rubber bands, carry-out menus, and my fake bubba teeth.
And this cupboard will house Cheetos, Hot Tamales and Wasabi-flavored almonds.
It seems that Michael and Jason have gone screaming and waving their arms.....into the sunset. (Again.)
Look up.....wood strips on the ceiling for attaching the cedar.....sample cedar straight ahead.
Look up, again.......wood strips on the ceiling for the cedar AND new track lights.

9:00 a.m......the buzzards were circling.....the campfires were cold.....and not another single, solitary person was in sight. I had the whole place to myself and plenty of time to check on the week's progress. It appears that theworkshop 308 boys have been very busy. Bless their hearts.

Excitement level: fevered pitch.

Excitement level: fevered pitch. Progress: whiplash speed. Buzz: never-ending.
And that is not ALL due to the cabinet man's speedy recovery from the flu. Stuff is happening. I'll have some pictures in a day or two. Cabinets are looking awesome. I will be surrounded by smartness and splendor for the first time in many, many years......cabinet-wise, I mean. Some of the windows have gotten an eyebrow treatment, never previously duplicated in this civilization, to facilitate proper rain management. Three square light fixtures and a porch light have been installed. Berms and landscaping are being passionately discussed. A conservation agent has been contacted. Kitchen appliances have been selected and purchased.
Most of the plumbing fixtures have been tested successfully. The heat works. The air-conditioning works. Ditches have been dug with top-of-the-line rental equipment. Conduit has been laid that would rival the Alaskan pipeline. The propane man is poised and ready for action. And did I mention THE RAMP? Oh, baby. Am I going to have A RAMP! One of my thoughts for the house design has always been to make it barrier-free. Any one of us could stumble into one of those ditches or become disabled by a fall on the dance floor at any moment; and I, for one, certainly want to be able to operate any type of mobility aid throughout the house without worrying about narrow doors or a flight of stairs......and make that a possibility for any visitors. And what A RAMP! By the time it's finished, the house may appear to be merely an afterthought. There's not a convention center or an opera house in town that has A RAMP like this one. Keep your eyes on this space for more pictures.....and more progress.

This blog page entitled "Whadya do when the cabinet guy shows up complaining of the flu?" has been deleted....due to inappropriateness of material.

Lights.....camera.....a little more action to report.....

Lights.....camera.....a little more action to report. I thought I'd better check things out, after work on Friday......but didn't expect to see LIGHTS inside the house! Now, that's ACTION. Not all of the lights are in, but the few that Michael has hooked up are making all the difference in the world. It's starting to look very civilized and genteel......if you overlook the table saw in the living room and a few other construction accessories. The storage/shelter container has been lifted onto the piers and is now where it belongs. Jason has installed, but not finished the translucent wall that separates my bedroom and bathroom. The plumbing fixtures are nearly in place. And when I walked in the door last night, there was MUSIC coming from the speakers that Gabe installed. What else do you need?

It's "taking a village", alright......

It's "taking a village", alright.....if a person were to collect the names of all of the people SO FAR who have been involved in this project, it would definitely look like it belongs in the Ozarks. Friends, neighbors, hired hands, true professionals, blood relatives, in-laws, consultants, prospective clients, students, passers-by, droppers-in, tourists, dogs.....and a story behind every one of them, if you had the time and the inclination.

I was out at the house on Sunday and thought I'd do some serious picture-taking for a blog update......but, I was getting in the way of progress (On Sunday? People working? Yes, if you happen to be related to someone.....and were helping on your day off...) so I came on home.

Meanwhile, I'll give you a brief update. As you may have noticed, a great deal of trash had accumulated on the building site, including four of the shipping container sections that had been cut out and had fallen down the hill. There were also several dead trees lying around and one that was too close to the container to be safe or practical. My friend and landlord Ken Richardson was hired to get the trash shoved into one pile and out of the way, to cut and remove some of the dead trees and to retrieve the container panels from the hill. So, Sunday before last, he brought his new Kubota tractor and his ninety-one-year-old dad Loyd to get the job done. Quite the crew, eh? A 55-year-old, a 65 year-old, a 91-year-old and thankfully, no dogs. That was about an eight hour operation, with time to sit on some overturned buckets to eat lunch, and an unforgettably impressive experience to watch how Ken and his dad work together and know exactly where to put the chains, where the tractor needs to go, where to attach the "come-along", how to use the pry bar to guide the tree or the metal that was being pulled, which wood was good for what.......and enough energy and humor for conversation and philosophy and a couple of Loyd's famous jokes. That was a day I will always remember and appreciate. And it wore me slick.

Michael created a beautiful concrete pad on which has been installed an air conditioning unit.....Jason finished the piers for the storage container to be installed on Thursday (WITH A CRANE!!!!).....the pier that will support the ramp that goes from the house to the ground by the storage container/car port is now in place.......Michael and the plumber have been at work in the crawl space getting it ready for a pump and hot water heaters (which could not have been a fun job).... sinks have been installed in the two bathrooms......toilets are there and almost installed....Jason is getting ready to put up the translucent panels that will separate the bathroom and my bedroom...the furnace is in place.....Gabe installed the speakers and did a final check before the phone guy and the electrician come....more people have been out to check on the progress......and I'm back at work and no longer able to spend the whole day standing in the future living room, looking at that river and trying to decide between lawn chair, kayak or inner tube. It's tough.